Tyler Pitlick hasn’t had much good luck this year. He was getting his chances to score, but having no luck popping a few goals. In 14 games, Pitlick has no goals and just two assists.

Now he’s out with a concussion.

But for all that, in this first extended viewing of Pitlick’s game, I came away impressed — just as old timey but astute Oklahoma City radio commentator Doug Sauter is — with all Pitlick brings to a game.

He’s got plenty of tools that make me think one day he can contribute at the NHL level. He’s big, 6-feet, 2-inches, 200-pounds, he’s fast and agile on his skates and he throws hard hits. He also hustles out there and has a bit of skill, though no one will ever mistake him for Jordan Eberle.

On the Barons, Pitlick ranks fifth among wingers for individual scoring chances plus/minus, but the guys ahead of him are all top drawer, Eberle, Taylor Hall, Teemu Hartikainen and Magnus Paajarvi. When the NHL season starts up again, it’s conceivable that all four of them will be in Edmonton, with Pitlick on one of the Barons’ top two lines.

I expect he’ll do OK in a more prominent role. He’s chipping in on scoring chances at a good clip, 2.1 every game, just behind Paajarvi at 2.7 per game. Eberle, he of the outrageous hockey skills, leads the way at even strength, chipping in on an astonishing 4.8 chances per game, with Hall at 4.0 per game and Hartikainen 3.1.

With that kind of contribution to chances, Pitlick, 20, a high second round draft pick in the 2010 draft, should have more points, and the points will come when he returns to the line-up. He’s doing much more right than wrong on the ice.

How might he fit in as an NHLer? Perhaps as a Ryan Jones-style energy player. In that regard, he could use more work on the penalty kill in Oklahoma City.

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